The Albishorn Marinagraph Regatta Chronograph

Imaginary vintage… This is the idea behind young indie brand Albishorn, the project of Sebastien Chaulmontet (Director of Innovation and Marketing at Sellita) and Fabien Collioud (designer). The idea is to create vintage-inspired models that never existed, but that could have been real at a time… Hypothetical watches that can be seen as missing links in the history of watchmaking. It all started with the Maxigraph (regatta chrono), followed by the Type 10 Chronograph (pilot’s chrono) and the Thundergraph (exploration chrono). For its fourth watch, the Marinagraph, Albishorn returns to the regatta-inspired concept, using the same base as the Maxigraph but this time designed with a different era in mind. 

In essence, the Albishorn Marinagraph doesn’t differ much from the brand’s initial release (done with design studio Massena LAB), the Maxigraph. It relies on the same case, the same movement and features identical indications and functions, in particular a regatta timer. But when the Maxigraph was conceived as a hypothetical late-1930s regatta chronograph, the new Marinagraph looks at an era slightly closer to us, that of the post-WWII America’s Cup. Due to the war, the competition had to be interrupted, before coming back after a long hiatus in 1958. This new watch, with its more modern appeal and funkier design, was imagined as a tool that could have accompanied Columbia’s crew on the water (the American yacht representing the New York Yacht Club in the 1958 race).

Classic Albishorn case

Let’s start with what’s known about this new Marinagraph. As said, we’re here looking at a variation around the same concept as the Maxigraph. First of all, this new regatta chronograph shares the same middle case as all watches made by Albishorn, and that means a fairly compact central part that’s 39mm in diameter (excl. bezel) and 13mm in total thickness. The case is gently curved and reasonably short, at 47.7mm, and finished with brushed areas and polished accents and lateral bevels. As with all of the brand’s model, the crown is located at 10:30 and the chronograph, a mono-pusher, is actuated by a large red anodised aluminium element positioned between 9 and 10 o’clock, to be used with the thumb (quite practical in real life). A box-shaped sapphire crystal protects the dial, the caseback is solid steel and screwed, and water-resistance is rated at 100m, making this watch suitable for aquatic activities (quite necessary for a regatta-oriented watch…)

On the wrist, the watch feels comfortable but is visually larger than the numbers suggest. It’s due to the bezel that has a bowl shape and a larger diameter than the case – 42.7mm in total. The bidirectional bezel is here equipped with a fairly unusual brushed aluminium insert, with a tide scale. Designed to track the tidal cycle over a 24-hour period, the bezel is divided into two segments (black and tourmaline green accents indicate the state of tides). White markers with Super-LumiNova denote the first 12 hours following the last high tide. Red markers indicate the subsequent 12 hours. It thus allows the wearer to estimate the relative tide height at any given hour.

Classic or bold dial

Two versions of the Albishorn Marinagraph are offered, using an identical layout but with a choice of two colours. The first edition, named Classic Racing, comes equipped with a sunray-brushed black dial and silver-toned brushed hands and applied hour markers. The second model, much more distinctive and characterful, is named Paraíba Racing and features a sunray-brushed dial in tourmaline green (like the bezel) with blackened hands and applied markers. On both editions, the central seconds hand and the regatta time indication are rendered in red. White Super-LumiNova is found on all elements of the dial.

The dial itself has been designed for legibility and function. Even though a chronograph, the display remains fairly simple at first sight with hours and minutes in the centre and no classic chronograph sub-dials. There’s, of course, a central seconds to measure elapsed times, but the main feature is the indication at the bottom, a patented 10-minute retrograde regatta countdown. Unlike typical regatta chronograph countdown indications, which restart endlessly the countdown once it is over, the one from the Marinagraph was designed to stop once the 10 minutes are over, while the seconds of the chronograph continue running. It is complemented by a colour-accented aperture at 3 o’clock that serves as a running indicator. The retrograde indication works on a 10-minute basis, with the last 5 minutes, the most crucial ones to synchronise the start of a regatta, highlighted in red.

Proprietary Chronograph movement

Inside the case of the Albishorn Marinagraph is the same movement as the Maxigraph, the calibre ALB01 A. This automatic chronograph is based on a Sellita architecture (not surprising, knowing the founder’s background) that has been modified to become thinner, thanks to a new mainplate, shortened pivots and a redesigned chronograph start mechanism. In total, it measures 6.6mm in height, compared to the 7.9mm thickness of an automatic Valjoux 7750. It also includes unique functionalities such as the retrograde timer and the movement has been rotated to have its unusually positioned counters, crown and pusher. The calibre ALB01 A runs at 28,800vph and boasts a 64-hour power reserve.

Price and availability

Each example of the Albishorn Marinagraph will be delivered with two tropic-style rubber straps – black and red for the Classic Racing, black and white for the Paraíba Racing. Each edition will be limited to 99 unnumbered examples, with a production paced over three years. The price is CHF 3,950, exclusive of taxes and shipping.

The watches will be available as of Friday, August 29, 2025, at 9AM (EDT) or 3PM (CEST), exclusively from the official online boutique at www.albishorn-watches.ch.